


Stop Your Crying (It's A Sign Of The Times)

by shiningvioletskies



Series: Stop Your Crying Universe [1]
Category: Dynasty (TV 2017), Victorious (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Coming Out, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Liz Gillies Cinematic Universe, M/M, So much angst, They're All Gay, This Is STUPID, This will be long, alexis hate account, and there's a secret 17 year old sister, bade brotp, basically dynasty with all the drama, blake hate account, but jeff and monica don't take it out on fallon they all deal with it together, but they've all gone to therapy, don't ask what this is i don't know, don't ask who fallon's ending up with i have no idea, eventual falliam, fallon's relationship drama, i am projecting onto fallon and jade but what else is new, i promise this is better than i'm making it sound, it'll end up okay though i promise, jade's friends are human security blankets, no one likes blake, platonic intimacy, that means my girl og cristal, this is writing itself, upsetting that that isn't a tag smh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29363658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiningvioletskies/pseuds/shiningvioletskies
Summary: Fallon, Steven, and Jade have been screwed over by their parents one too many times. They're done.Or: Jade is the hidden youngest Carrington sibling. Fallon and Steven show up to pull her into the spotlight with them. Blake isn't happy.
Relationships: Beck Oliver/Alyssa Vaughn, Kirby Anders/Fallon Carrington, Steven Carrington/Sam "Sammy Jo" Jones, Tori Vega/Jade West
Series: Stop Your Crying Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2174028
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	1. Had The Best Day With You

**Author's Note:**

> The kids know Kirby didn't start the fire. I'm absolutely going to cut things out because so much happens in Dynasty. This'll switch between and combine plots from both shows. Also this is absolutely ignoring the timeline of Victorious, both original air and Netflix order because none of it makes sense.
> 
> Fic title from Sign Of The Times by Harry Styles
> 
> Apologies in advance for long update breaks I'm writing like eight things rn. I cannot stop.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade gets a surprise on what's looking like her worst birthday yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from The Best Day by Taylor Swift

Jade sat down at her usual table and buried her head in her arms. Worst. Birthday. Ever.

It had started out fine enough. She'd stayed with her girlfriend overnight and they watched Tori's cheesy John Hughes movies until midnight, when they switched over to The Scissoring (in celebration of Jade's birthday). But it didn't last. When they woke up in the morning, Tori had a killer migraine and Jade spent fifteen minutes convincing her to stay home and rest. Of course, she never would’ve needed to spend so long doing so if Tori had never found out about her birthday, like she’d intended. But the other girl had spotted the birthday card tossed on the dresser while she was waiting for Jade to finish studying, and proceeded to pester her until she got the exact date.

So yeah, the day had started fine enough, considering she hadn’t seen her aunt and uncle for a week and she couldn’t go home. But even after the Tori situation, things kept getting worse. Namely, she hadn’t gotten so much as a happy birthday text from either of her siblings. She supposed it wasn’t much of a surprise. Things hadn’t been easy back home...well...ever. But it had absolutely gotten worse since their father remarried. Her sister hated their new stepmother, her brother was still barely on speaking terms with their father, and Jade hadn’t seen any of them for more than a day in the last two years. But still, it hurt to have absolutely no word from them.

So she’d been in a bad mood all day. Tori had been trying to make it better, texting her every five minutes, but it just reminded Jade she wasn’t there (and worried her - texting all day couldn’t be making Tori’s head feel better). She’d softened over the months she’d been with Tori. The halls started to clear less when she walked down them. Freshmen didn’t scream and run when they saw her. Some people other than Tori could even withstand her withering gazes now. But that was all gone today, and she was back to the old Jade everyone feared.

It felt like whispers were following her all day. It wasn’t a surprise. She was avoiding her friends (especially Beck, who had figured out her birthday a few years back), she was intimidating everyone around her once again, and Tori wasn’t on her arm, like everyone had grown accustomed to. She supposed it was natural that they might make assumptions.

But all that led up to now. With her head on the table, waiting for the parking lot to clear so she could leave just that little bit easier. She didn’t move when she heard a car pull into the parking lot followed by a slamming door, or when she heard the whispers getting louder, or even when she heard footsteps walk behind her and stop. It was probably just Beck come to wish her happy birthday. She didn’t need to talk to him.

But when a familiar feminine voice called out behind her, it definitely didn’t belong to her best friend.

“I thought you’d be more excited than that to see your favorite sibling, Jadey.”

Jade shot up and whipped around.

“She’s talking about me, obviously, baby sister” the man next to her smirked, speaking softly.

Jade smiled, “Fallon! Steven! I missed you.”

She reached out to hug them, to the confusion of all her classmates. Jade didn’t do hugs. Except with Tori (and occasionally Cat). And apparently...the Carringtons? There’d been some rumors when they were younger, considering the astounding resemblance between Jade and Fallon, but by the end of middle school everyone had seen her out with her guardians at some point and things mostly died out, the whole situation written off as a bizarre coincidence. But maybe, just maybe, it was time to re-evaluate all that.

"Hey, kiddo. We missed you, too," Steven pulled her closer.

“What are you even doing here?” Jade stepped back. “I thought Dad said-”

“Screw what Daddy says,” Fallon interrupted. “It’s your birthday! You think we’d miss that? Just because he doesn’t want to acknowledge it doesn’t mean you’re not a Carrington. And my favorite little sister.”

“I’m your only little sister, idiot. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? How did you even get here?”

“We wanted it to be a surprise,” her big brother started.

“And Cristal’s mad at Daddy, so she let us take the jet without him knowing. It really was too easy.”

“What about work? You don’t do breaks, Fallon.”

“I do for you, kid. Now would you stop complaining? We are here to celebrate.”

Jade rolled her eyes, “Fine.”

“Good. Wrist, please.”

Jade sighed and held out her wrist, allowing Fallon to drag her out to the parking lot with Steven behind them. A smile was threatening to break through her facade of annoyance. Stares and whispers followed them, but Jade couldn’t find it in her to even care about the fallout that was guaranteed to come after a reveal like this. She spotted her friends leaving the main building together just as she slipped into the limo waiting for her and her siblings, smirking and offering a smug wave at their shocked and confused faces.

The Carringtons settled into the limo, Jade sandwiched between her older siblings. Steven’s arm was tight around her shoulder and he clearly wasn’t letting go any time soon. Jade looked between Fallon and Steven, smiling. The older girl’s face softened, her harsh, intense public persona fading away in the privacy of her family.

“So how’s your birthday going, Jadey?” Fallon asked.

“Mm. Better now that you guys are here,” Jade leaned her head on Fallon’s shoulder. She really had missed her siblings. A lot.

“Rough day, huh, kid?” Steven asked from her other side.

“I guess. Birthdays always suck without anyone around.”

“Amanda and Josh gone again?”

“Hey, what am I supposed to expect from Alexis’ family, right?” Jade laughed mirthlessly.

“I suppose,” Fallon replied. “But we’re here now and we are absolutely going to make up for it. Isn’t that right, Steven?”

“That’s right.”

“So where to first? Shopping? Food?”

“Actually, I need to make a stop somewhere first,” Jade said. Her bag was full of Tori’s homework and the textbooks she needed that she’d left at school the day before.

“Alright, sounds good,” Fallon reached over to the button that would roll down the divider.

“Anders!” Jade gasped. “Okay, will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? How are you even all here? I know Dad will notice Anders gone.”

“It’s good to see you too, dear. And your father will notice nothing. I’m taking the week off. I told him it was to visit Kirby, so as far as he knows I’m in Australia.”

“Lying to Blake. Never thought you had it in you,” Jade laughed.

“You kids are always more important. You know that.”

“Of course we do,” Fallon interjected. “We just like to hear you say it.”

“Yes well...don’t let it get to your head, Fallon. And happy birthday, Jade. Now. Where to?”

Jade gave Anders the Vega’s address and he closed the divider, to give the reuniting siblings their space. Fallon ruffled Jade’s hair and the three chatted idly the rest of the drive.

When they arrived at the Vega home, Jade grabbed her bag and moved to get out of the car. She paused at the door, where Anders was waiting for her to get out, and turned to her siblings.

“You coming?” she asked. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Steven and Fallon shared a surprised glance, but got up and followed their little sister out of the car. They waited a moment so she could hug Anders hello, then went towards the porch. Steven reached out to ring the doorbell, but Jade grabbed his arm to stop him.

“A key’s under the mat,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“So?”

“So we just go in.”

“Without knocking?”

“Duh.”

He looked over her head to Fallon, “God, she’s just like you.”

“Obviously she’d take after her best sibling! And we are practically identical, so I don’t know what you expect.”

“Relax, Steven,” Jade interrupted. “God, you sound like Dad. I’ve done this for years. Vega doesn’t care, even if she pretends she does. Her sister might, but no one cares what Trina thinks.”

“And this ‘Vega’s’ parents?”

“Out of town. They’re usually gone. Don’t really care what the people hanging around their kids do. Now can we go inside or do you want to keep questioning me?”

Steven rolled his eyes, relenting, “Yeah, okay.”

Jade smirked and reached into her pocket, grabbing a ring of keys and going to open the door.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Steven started. “I thought you said the key was under the mat?”

“I said a key was under the mat. I made this one sophomore year, a couple weeks after Vega transferred to Hollywood Arts. I have keys for all my friends’ places.”

“That’s my girl,” Fallon laughed. Steven looked concerned, but said nothing.

Jade got the door unlocked and led them inside.

“We need to be quiet,” she half-whispered. “And it’ll be dark when we get to her room. At least, it had better be. She had a migraine this morning. Almost had to bribe her to stay home and rest. She felt bad leaving me alone on my birthday.”

The two older Carringtons caught their baby sister’s small smile. They said nothing, but both smirked knowingly.

Jade led them up the stairs and down the hall until they reached a closed door. There was nothing on it except a pink sticky note with the words “stay out. that means you, trina. i’m not afraid to use my scissors…” written carefully in Jade’s neat handwriting. It was dark underneath, much to Jade’s relief. She slowly opened the door, but her face fell a bit when she saw Tori on her phone. She moved further into the room, approaching the bed, while her siblings waited at the threshold.

“Tori,” she started, a hint of playfulness in her voice. “I thought we agreed no screens until you feel better. You know they always make you feel worse.”

“But I wanted to text you. I missed you and you were taking soooo long to get here after school.”

“I sorry Tor, I got a little held up. But I have some people I’d like you to meet. Do you mind if I turn on some soft light?”

“Yeah, sure. My desk lamp, maybe?”

“Of course.”

Jade walked over to Tori’s desk and turned on the light. She waved her siblings in from the door, and they took a few steps forward.

“Fallon, Steven, before I introduce you, I have something to tell you. I...uh…I’m gay.”

“Yes! Three out of three,” Steven pumped his fist.

“Daddy’ll be so mad. Good job, kid.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Three?” Jade asked, confused.

“Yeah?” Fallon looked at her. “Don’t tell me you thought I was straight…”

“Well…”

“You wound me, baby sister!”

“You mean you didn’t know about Kirby?” Steven interrupted.

“What? Fallon and Kirby?” Jade was in shock.

“...Yeah? For like, a year. Up until Kirby...well...you know. Was it not...obvious?” It was Steven’s turn to be confused.

“I was, like, nine! Of course it wasn’t obvious.”

“Oh...well...surprise!”

“Can we not talk about my ex-girlfriend right now? Please?”

Tori cleared her throat, reminding them she was still there.

“Oh shit, right. Sorry, baby. Tori, these are my siblings, Fallon and Steven. Fallon, Steven, this is my girlfriend Tori.”

“Yeah uh...nice to meet you...hi...uh…”

Fallon laughed and stepped towards Tori, reaching out her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Tori,” she said to the younger girl. “My sister seems to care about you. I trust you won’t let her get hurt.”

“I- uh- er-”

“Leave the poor girl alone, Fallon,” Steven stepped in, lightly shoving his sister aside. “It’s nice to meet you, Tori. I’m glad our little sister has someone here for her.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course,” Tori smiled, relaxing.

“Alright, now that you’re all introduced, you two get out so I can talk to my girlfriend.”

“Mhm. Talk…” Fallon teased.

“I mean it! Out, come on! I’ll be downstairs in a minute.”

“Let’s go, Fallon,” Steven pulled her out the door.

“So,” Tori started. “Carringtons…”

“Told you my family was complicated. And rich.”

“Yeah, this is just...a whole other level.”

“Are you mad? That I didn’t tell you sooner?”

“Of course not, babe. I told you to take your time and I meant it. This was your story to share in your own time, and it’ll stay that way. Now come here, give me a hug.”

Jade sat down at the edge of Tori’s bed and grabbed her hand, allowing herself to be pulled down onto her girlfriend’s bed.

“Mm. I missed you today,” Jade murmured into her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“I missed you too, babe. Was today okay?”

“It was shit.”

Tori poked her arm, “Told you I should’ve gone to school today.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re always right,” Jade almost giggled. She only got like this around Tori. 

“Damn right. Now do you want your birthday present or not?”

“You mean you’re not my present?” Jade kissed her softly.

Tori pulled away, “Very funny, Jade. It’s on the nightstand. Right next to you.”

Jade rolled over and grabbed the small wrapped package off the table. It was wrapped in heavy black paper and tied off with a deep purple ribbon. She opened it carefully, making sure not to rip the wrapping paper (she kept every little thing her girlfriend gave her), and took the lid off the box that was revealed. She gasped at the contents. A small, simple pair of earrings. Stunning, of course. Pieces of jade set in gold. And next to those, a necklace with a silver scissor pendant. Jade smiled at her girlfriend and gave her another soft kiss. 

"Thank you, baby. I love them. And I love you. Now helped me put this on."

Jade passed the necklace back to her girlfriend, unclasped, and grabbed the earrings, reaching up to put them on herself. When the jewelry was all fastened and secured, Tori's arms wrapped around Jade's waist, peppering soft kisses along her neck. 

"Mmph. Baby, I gotta go. Fallon and Steven are waiting for me."

"No, stay here," Tori pleaded. 

"I'll come back in a while and we can spend time together then. But Steven's always at home and Fallon never gets time off work and it's hard for them to get here from Atlanta without Dad finding out. So I'll see you in a few hours, babe."

"Ugh, fine," Tori relaxed her grip on Jade. "But I'm expecting cuddles!!"

"Anything for you, darling."

"Shut up," Tori tossed a pillow at Jade. 

Jade kissed Tori one more time and stood, turning out the light and heading out the door. 

"Love you, Jade."

"Love you too, baby. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Jade shut the door softly and headed down the stairs to where her siblings were waiting on one of the couches.

Fallon looked up at her, "So. Girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah. That's her."

"How long have you been with her? What happened with Beck?"

"Tori made me realize I was gay last winter. So I broke up with Beck and asked her out. He understood. We're still friends. He's dating Alyssa Vaughn now. No idea how they've managed to keep that a secret, but whatever. She hasn't blown my cover, so I don't really care."

"You've been with Tori that long?" Steven spoke up. "Why didn't you call and tell us? You know you can talk to us about this stuff."

"I know, but we all know how Dad is about the no contact rule and I didn't want him to find out. It happened before I got control of my phone bill and I just didn't think about it. Sorry."

Her sister stood from the couch, "It's alright, kiddo. I'm just glad you told us now. We're proud of you."

"Insanely proud," Steven added, standing and watching his sisters. 

"Thanks. Let's go get some food. I didn't have lunch"

"Sounds excellent, Jadey. But we'll talk about the not eating lunch bit later. Where to?"

"Oh, I know this great sushi place. Let's go."

Jade pulled Fallon towards the door just as Fallon grabbed Steven's wrist, dragging him behind them. 

They got in the car and Jade immediately rolled down the divider and stuck out her hand. 

"I win, Anders. Pay up."

"Really? Well that is a surprise," the man in the driver's seat chuckled. "Congratulations, Jade."

"For real? You two were betting on me?"

"Sorry Jadey, but it was just too easy of a win. And I'll always bet if I know I can win. But, if it'll make you feel better, I'll give you half the money."

"Okay, deal."

Anders rolled up the divider and started up the car. As they pulled away from the house, Jade's phone started ringing. She looked at it and lit up, answering the video call as quickly as possible.

"Kirby!"

"Jade! Happy birthday, sweetheart," the voice on the other end said.

Jade didn't notice her sister jolt to look towards the phone, a hint of a smile creeping onto her face.

"Thanks."

"So, where are you? That looks like a limo! I thought you drove yourself around."

"I usually do. I got a ride from a friend this morning, though. And the limo is because of…" she turned the camera to show Steven, who offered a small wave, and Fallon, who blushed before turning to pick at her nails.

Kirby sputtered a bit, "Oh my god! How'd they even get there? I thought Blake wasn't letting them near you."

"He isn't. They snuck out and stole the jet."

"Hey! We didn't steal the jet, we borrowed it," Steven interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you want to call it. You still took the jet without Blake's permission." Jade turned back to the phone, "They had an accomplice, though. Your dad's here, too. Want to say hi?"

"No shit? Of course I want to! Give the phone to him."

Jade rolled the divider back down and reached out to hold the phone next to it.

"Yo, Anders! Phone."

"Hm?"

"Hey Dad," Kirby said.

"Oh, Kirby! How are you, dear?"

"I'm alright. I miss you. All of you. "

If anyone heard Fallon inhale sharply, they didn't say anything. 

"Well, I won't steal you away from Jade any longer. I'll call and check in later. Goodbye, Kirby."

"Bye, Dad."

Anders rolled the divider up once more and Jade relaxed into her seat again. 

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one in exile…"

"You really still haven't been home at all?"

"Nope. Blake hasn't changed his mind. Apparently I'm bad for his image. Haven't even met stepmommy dearest. And Alexis is still MIA, of course."

Fallon snorted in the corner at Jade's use of Cristal's nickname.

"Well...screw Blake. And Alexis. We're better than them, anyway."

"Damn straight," Jade smirked. "I really miss you, Kirby. You need to come to LA. You can…uh…you can meet my girlfriend, even."

"Whoa, hold it. Girlfriend? I'm sure Blake's happy about that…"

Steven slid closer to Jade, so he was in the frame.

"He doesn't know," he said. "Yet. Fallon and I just met her right before you called."

"She knows if she hurts Jadey we'll ruin her, right?"

"Of course. Fallon made sure of that."

Kirby blushed at the reminder that Fallon was there. Jade rolled her eyes. 

"You can all leave Tori alone. She wouldn't hurt a fly. And she's put up with me this long, I don't think I could get rid of her if I tried."

"Alright, but we're keeping an eye on her…"

"I know, Kirby. But I'll be okay, really. Enough about all that, though. How's Australia? Tell me everything."

Jade and Kirby chatted all the way to the restaurant, where they said their goodbyes with the promise that Jade would call more. 

"Alright, here we are," Jade said as she jumped out of the car. "Nozu's the best. I come here with my friends all the time. This is where I started to realize I liked Tori."

Jade smiled, clearly lost in her own little world.

"Aw, you look so happy. The two of you are disgustingly cute and it's honestly unsettling. I've never seen you like that."

Steven punched her arm, "Fallon, be nice."

"Okay, okay! I'm happy for you, Jade. Really."

"Good, you'd better be. Let's go inside now, I'm starving. And people are starting to notice us."

Sure enough, a crowd had started to form around the three, the whispers getting louder. They noticed phone cameras starting to come out. And Fallon spotted some guys with bigger cameras getting out of a van further down.

"Paparazzi's here," she whispered to Jade. "You wanna run for it? Or face this and let Daddy handle it."

Jade smirked, "I'm done hiding. This is it. Let Dad deal with his own mess."

She draped an arm across each of her siblings' shoulders. Fallon made sure to look directly at the cameras headed toward them and even move back a little to make sure they saw Jade. As they started calling out for the older Carrington siblings and asking questions, all three of them headed into the restaurant as one.


	2. Feet Firm On The Ground We Stood Hand In Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade and her siblings deal with the fallout of the paparazzi. They have a lot of people in their corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so some things have been fleshed out since last chapter. Here's what you need to know: 
> 
> Canonically, Jade was born July '95, Fallon January '93, and Steven sometime in '88. In this fic, Jade was born in fall, Fallon was '88, and Steven was '83. 
> 
> This starts right before "I Only Exist For Me." Matthew happened, but all that stuff with Steven and the cops didn't. Most of the drama before this episode doesn't exist. 
> 
> I know a lot of this is confusing right now, but all will be revealed soon (like why Blake hates his kid so much and what's going on with Fallon's love life). That being said, if you have any questions, please comment them!! If I'm accidentally excluding important info, I'll make sure to write it into future chapters. 
> 
> The Carrington and Colby kids don't know they're cousins yet, but they're like siblings to each other so no Jeff and Fallon drama here, folks. 
> 
> Liam knows the Carringtons already because let's be real, it made no sense in the show that not a single one of them already recognized him.
> 
> Basically everyone in the younger gen of characters gets along pretty well because of Jade. They're all very protective and the Jade thing was the last straw for most of them. 
> 
> This last one isn't really plot relevant but I have decided that when Fallon flew in on the jet in the first episode, she was coming back from seeing Kirby. The ride home with Culhane was awkward because, as her friend, he knows where she was and he's in love with her.
> 
> Chapter title from Ready Now by dodie.

Jade led her siblings to a table near the stage. There wasn't really anything private at Nozu, but it was better than the counter. It was hard to ignore the eyes following them from all over the room, but she was doing okay.

"So...how long until Dad finds out?" she said quietly, trying to keep the conversation at least a little between them.

"I give it 45 minutes. Maybe an hour."

Fallon scoffed, "You're more out of touch than I thought, Steven. Fifteen minutes before it hits the tabloids, tops. I'm sure he'll see it as soon as it's out."

Jade's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out.

Beck Oliver: what are your siblings doing here?? is everything okay??

Jade looked around the restaurant, scanning for Beck. She spotted him against the back wall with the rest of their friends (minus Tori), all staring at her slack-jawed while Beck stared intently at his phone, clearly worried.

Jade West: everything's fine. they wanted to surprise me for my birthday and we got caught by the paps. so ig the secret's out. or it will be soon

Beck Oliver: does blake know?

Jade West: not yet. he'll probably call any minute now. fallon's giving it maybe fifteen minutes until he finds out…

Beck Oliver: yikes. good luck with that

Jade looked back up at him. Their friends had all turned their attention to him, too, and they looked confused.

Beck Oliver: they're wondering what's going on. should i tell them?

Jade West: not out loud. too many people. i'll do it

Just as Jade was switching to the group chat to explain to her friends, her sister got her attention.

"Jade? What's going on?"

"Beck's over there with our friends," she gestured to their table. "They're pestering him to find out what's going on, so I'm telling them before they find out some other way."

"Ah, okay. Carry on, kid."

HA CREW

Jade West: okay so

Jade West: i know you're all confused

Tori Vega: what's going on?

Jade West: our friends showed up at nozu, baby. put the phone away and try to sleep

Tori Vega: fine :(

Jade West: as i was saying, i know you're all confused and i need to tell you this before you find out some other way

Andre Harris: you good, jade? what’s going on?

Jade West: okay, i’m just gonna come right out and say it

Jade West: please don’t hate me

Cat Valentine: jadey? what’s wrong? you’re scaring me

Cat Valentine: more than normal

Jade didn’t respond. Beck looked up to see her looking panicked, and Fallon and Steven seemed helpless. Shit. He looked around the room to check that no cameras were out, then raced over to Jade’s side.

“Fallon. Steven,” he greeted rather shortly

“Beck,” Fallon replied. “Thank god. Does this happen a lot?”

“It used to. It had been getting better, though,” he turned to Jade. “Hey Jade? Jade, can you hear me?”

She nodded. Her hands were shaking.

“I’m gonna move your phone. Okay?” Beck slipped her phone out of her hands carefully and set it on the table. “Now, take some deep breaths with me, okay? In and out, come on.”

Jade’s breathing started to slow and she became a little more alert. Beck pulled out his phone.

“I’m calling Tori for you.”

Jade looked up, “Beck, no. She needs to rest, come on.”

“She’s been resting all day, she can talk for five minutes. And you need her right now. That’s okay.”

“But Beck-”

“Buh buh buh. I’m dialing right now.”

“Ugh, Beck-”

“Hey, Tori! How are you feeling? Good. That’s good. Hey so, Jade’s having a bit of a rough time over here, and I need you to check in with her. Yeah, uh huh. Here she is,” he handed Jade the phone.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey, Jade. What’s going on?” Tori sounded panicked. 

“It’s fine, really. I’m fine. It’s no big deal.”

“Jade, we both know that’s not true. Come on babe, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

"What if our friends hate me? For not telling them about my family? I mean, Beck knows but the rest of them are just totally in the dark. I don't even know if they've figured out Josh and Amanda aren't my parents!"

Tori's was audibly calmer now, "First of all, they know about Josh and Amanda, Jade. You've called them your aunt and uncle in front of us."

"Oh."

"And they won't be mad about your family, just like I wasn't. That's personal and they'll respect that. And if they don't, I could fight them for you."

Jade laughed a little, "Like you've ever been in a fight, Vega."

"Oh, come on! I could take them!"

"You sure about that, babe?"

"Well...I could take Robbie, at least…"

"Alright, I'll give you that."

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay now."

"Promise?"

Jade smiled softly, "Promise. I love you, Tor."

"Love you too, Jade. I'll see you in a little bit."

"Feel better, baby. Bye."

Jade hung up the phone and handed it back to Beck.

"Alright, you calmed down now?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks, Beck."

"Hey, that's what best friends are for, right? Now, are you sure you want to tell everyone yourself? I could do it if you want. Or Fallon. She's scarier than you. They'd totally-"

Jade laughed at her sister's proud smirk, "No, I should do it. Come on, let's go. Before they find out from The Slap."

Jade grabbed Beck's wrist and pulled him across the restaurant before anyone could protest. Steven moved to follow them, but Fallon put her arm on his shoulder. 

"Let her go. She'll be fine, Steven, don't worry."

He sighed and sat back, albeit reluctantly. Together, they watched their baby sister make her way across the restaurant, her best friend in tow. 

Jade's friends looked at her expectantly. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Three minutes until Fallon figured the public would find out. Now or never. 

She took a deep breath, and Beck put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"So...okay," she began. "I know this is going to be a surprise and totally seem out of nowhere, but you were going to figure out one way or another so I thought you should hear it from me, and I'm so so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but Beck found out on his own years ago and I just told Tori, like, an hour ago and-"

"Jade," Beck interrupted her softly, "you're rambling. Breathe, it's okay."

"Right. Okay. So uh...I guess I'll just come right out and say it. My parents are Blake and Alexis Carrington. Steven and Fallon are my siblings."

Her friends stared at her, dumbstruck. She looked back across Nozu to see her siblings smiling reassuringly. She turned back to the table. 

"Say something. Please. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," her voice was shaky. 

This was it. They were upset. Angry. They hated her. She was about to lose anyone. Tori would side with them and leave her. She-

"Okay," Andre's voice snapped her out of it. 

"What?"

"Okay," he repeated. "It's your life. You're a private person and we all knew that already. And you probably have a pretty good reason to not share before now."

"Yeah!" Cat joined in. "You're our friend, Jade! I get it, sometimes I wish I could pretend I wasn't my brother's sister."

The whole table laughed at that a little.

"Yeah, no worries, Jade," Robbie said, the last to recover. 

"Oh…well. Okay."

Just then, all their phones started buzzing. Notifications from The Slap. Shit.

"I have to go back to my siblings. I'll...uh...I'll call you all later, okay? And explain more. But right now, I really have to...well...bye."

Jade nearly sprinted across the restaurant, almost knocking over three people just standing around on their phones. She caught a glimpse of her family on every screen.

Just as Fallon spotted Jade arriving back at the table, her phone rang. She looked at the screen. 

"Shit. It's Blake," she grabbed the phone, standing up. 

The three siblings left the restaurant as quickly as they could, Jade sandwiched between the older two to hide her. Fallon answered the phone as soon as they were out of the very crowded, very public dining area.

"Daddy, hi," she looked back at her sister, almost sadly. "Yes, we are with Jade. Because it's her birthday, although you clearly don't care about that. No, you don't."

They pushed out the front doors and throw the large crowd that had formed outside the doors to the limo waiting at the curb. Anders opened the door and the siblings piled in. Jade huddled in the back corner with Steven’s arm around her. Fallon stayed as far from them as possible, in a transparent attempt to keep Jade from hearing Blake's side of the conversation.

"Jade is a part of this family whether you like it or not, Blake. She's your daughter. She's only seventeen."

Jade started to cry into Steven's tee shirt. The noise started to fade until she could only hear bits and pieces of Fallon's words.

"...just a kid...didn't ever...your problem...fix it...what's wrong with…"

At some point, Fallon hung up and nudged Steven over, taking his place next to Jade and wrapping her in her arms. Jade cried harder. Fallon was shaking in anger. She hated that Blake could hurt her like this. Worse than he ever had Fallon.

Eventually, Jade stopped crying. Everything started to come back. She sat up. Anders was softly playing pop music on the radio. Her phone was in her back pocket, buzzing over and over. She put in on do not disturb. Fallon handed her a soda from the minibar. She sipped it quietly.

"What do you need?" Fallon broke the silence.

"I don't know. A hug?" Jade looked up at her sister.

"As long as you need, kid," Fallon smiled.

Jade leaned back into her sister's side and took a deep breath. It was almost peaceful in the car. Until…

"Shit, my phone's ringing," Fallon said, annoyed. She got her phone and checked the caller ID just as it went to voicemail.

"Who was it?" Steven asked.

"Monica. Call her back, please."

He rolled his eyes, but pulled his phone out anyway, "Hey, Monica. Yeah, Fallon and I are still with her. She's okay. Shaken up. In shock, I think. Blake called. Yeah, she heard it. Mhm. Okay, just a minute."

Steven looked back over to his sisters, who were watching him expectantly.

"So?" Fallon prompted. 

"She wants to talk to you, Jade."

"Okay," Jade grabbed the phone from him. 

"Hey, kid," the voice on the other side of the phone said softly.

"Hey, Moni. I guess you heard."

"Yeah, I heard. Are you okay? Y'know...considering?"

"Yeah. I wasn't but...I'm better now."

"Good. That's good. Your friends know yet?"

"Told them right after the tabloids got it. It went okay."

"Alright, well. Sorry you're not getting a happy birthday call under better circumstances, but happy birthday. Jeff wants to check in, too. Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"Yeah, alright. Love you, Monica. Thanks."

"No problem, sweetie. I love you too. Here's Jeff."

Jade heard the phone shuffling, and then:

"Hello? Jade?"

"Hey, Jeff."

"You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I…"

Fallon and Steven tuned out their little sister's repeat of the conversation she just had. Fallon started to relax a little bit, knowing her sister was really doing better now, when the sound of her phone, now in her lap, ringing again made her jump.

"Oh, shit!"

She looked down at the screen, however, and smiled, moving back over to her spot by the door to avoid disturbing anyone.

"Hey," she said, her smile obvious in her voice. Kirby always made her smile.

"Hey," came the voice over the phone. "So what happened between when I called to wish her happy birthday earlier and now?"

"God, so much."

"At least her girlfriend knew."

"And her friends. We ran into them at the restaurant."

"Good, that's good."

"Yeah."

"Is she okay?"

"I think so. Blake called me. I don't know how much she heard, but it wasn't pretty."

"Oh god, I didn't even think about Blake calling. Are YOU okay?"

"I'm angry. Really angry. He's an asshole. But I'll be alright. Jade's friends took it well, and she's got us and your dad and Steven and her girlfriend. And Monica and Jeff, they're on the phone with her right now. Liam and Culhane, even if I don't want to admit it. Even Cristal's been pushing Blake to at least let them meet each other. So I'm glad she has more support than she does Blake and Alexis."

"And Thomas…"

"Oh god, I don't even want to think about that," she groaned.

"It'll be okay. We're all here for her. And you and Steven. You've got an army behind you, Fal."

"Thanks. That actually helped a lot."

"Don't sound so surprised," Kirby laughed. Fallon felt her stomach turn in a circle. She laughed, too.

"Sorry. Love you. I'll check in soon," Fallon said. 

"I love you too, babe. Talk to you later. Tell Jade to call me if she needs anything."

"I will. Bye," Jade hung up the phone with a smile, leaning back. She looked up when she realized Jade wasn't on the phone anymore. 

Both her siblings were staring at her.

"What?"

"Well…" Steven started, "who was that?"

"No one."

"Didn't sound like no one," Jade joined. 

Steven smirked, "Was it Liam? Why didn't you tell me you were back together?"

"No, it wasn't Liam."

"Culhane?" Jade prodded. "He's been in love with you for years."

"Ew, no."

"Then who was it? Tell us!"

"No! Don't worry about it, for real!"

"Ugh, fine," Jade sighed. "I'll figure it out…"

"Jade, don't you dare."

Steven rolled his eyes, "You're no fun."

"Whatever."

They all stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing. Fallon moved back to where she'd been sitting before her girlfriend called, between her siblings.

Fallon whispered ever so softly, "I'll tell you later. Promise."

Jade and Steven fist bumped and Fallon rolled her eyes. She opened the divider, at which point Jade realized they never had a destination.

"Anders?" she called.

He turned, "Back to the hotel?"

"Please."

He nodded and smiled, closing the divider again. Fallon giggled, something she rarely did, and leaned back, sinking into her seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to get the next chapter out tonight or tomorrow because I'm absolutely on a roll right now. I promise I'll work on my other fics soon. Maybe.
> 
> Constructive criticism welcome as always.


	3. We're On Each Other's Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fallon shares some interesting life details with her siblings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so short but I needed the stuff in this chapter to happen like this! Next chapter will be longer and focus more on the Victorious plotline!
> 
> Chapter title from Team by Lorde

Anders pulled the limo around to the side of the hotel. Jade, Steven, and Fallon thanked him and said goodbye, piling out of the car and hurrying inside. They got in the elevator (which was empty, thank god) and headed up to the top floor. Fallon led the way down the hall, opening the door to their suite and collapsing onto the bed closest to the door. Jade sat next to her and Steven leaned against the wall next to them. Fallon reached for the remote and turned on some trashy reality show. They all vaguely recognized the cast. They’d probably attended some event together when they were younger, back when Jade lived at home and Alexis was still around. 

“Okay, give me your phones,” Fallon finally said.

Jade looked at her sister, “Excuse me?”

“You want to know who I was talking to earlier? I’ll tell you, but it can’t get back to Blake and I don’t trust that he isn’t spying on us. So come on, hand them over.”

Jade and Steven both reluctantly complied, and Fallon turned off all the phones and stuck them in the cabinet safe. They all moved to sit on the floor in a little circle, smaller than when they were kids and they’d hide away in one of their rooms with all their friends during parties and fights, but still familiar. Comforting.

“Alright, tell us,” Jade poked her sister in the arm.

“Okay, fine. I was talking to Kirby.”

Her siblings stared at her for a minute.

“What. The. Fuck,” Jade broke the silence.

“Kirby? Your ex-girlfriend Kirby? The one we talked to a couple hours ago?” Steven asked.

“She kind of...hasn’t been my ex...for a while.”

Steven sounded upset, “How long?”

Fallon was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking, “Well. She got sent away when we were, what, fourteen and almost fifteen? Just after Thanksgiving. And then I was with Liam for a while after that, most of sophomore year, and I flew out to Australia the summer after junior year, so...about seven years. I think. Something like that.”

“And you didn’t tell me because…” her brother prompted.

“Because we both know why Blake and Alexis wanted her gone in the first place. If it got back to either of them somehow, who knows what would’ve happened. No one knows, not even Anders.”

“Sorry, uh, can we back up to the Blake and Alexis part?” Jade interrupted. “What the hell did they have against Kirby?”

Steven snorted, “God, I forget how little you were when all that went down.”

Jade rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Baby sister Jade. Whatever. What happened?”

“Blake and Alexis thought Kirby was corrupting Fallon. They insisted that Fallon only thought she was into girls because Kirby was brainwashing her or something. Just some more of their bullshit."

"Screw them."

"Yeah. But that's not what this is about. This is about how Fal has been back together with Kirby for seven years, which explains why you haven't been with anyone since Liam. I was wondering what was happening there."

"Well, now you know."

"I'm happy for you guys, Fallon," Jade smiled. "Even if neither of you thought to ever tell me."

"Sorry, baby sister. How about this; next time I go to visit, you can join me. I'll bring the jet over here and pick you up and you can spend the weekend with us. I know you miss her."

"That sounds great, Fal. Really."

"Alright then. We all good now?"

Steven and Jade nodded.

"Yup, all good," Steven said.

Fallon tossed Jade the remote, stood up, and went over to open the safe. She passed her siblings their phones and headed towards the door to the next room.

She paused at the threshold, "I'm going to call Kirby. Pick a movie while I'm gone, please. Not The Scissoring."

Jade rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. She turned to the TV and started scrolling. 

Fallon turned and walked into the second bedroom. She dialed her girlfriend's number as she sat at the top of the bed, leaning against the pillows. She answered right away. 

"Fal? What's going on, is everything okay?" Kirby asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, baby. I uh...I told Jade and Steven. About us."

"Oh, thank god."

Fallon sounded confused, "Thank god?"

"Yeah, I've been going nuts with Jade not knowing, but they're your siblings and I didn't want to rush you and-"

"Oh thank god," it was Fallon's turn to be relieved. "I was worried you'd be mad. That I didn't ask first."

"Of course I'm not mad, baby. They're your siblings, and a lot has happened today, so I understand why you didn't let me know. It's okay."

"Okay. Okay. Oh! By the way, I promised Jade she could come with me the next time I visit, to apologize for not telling her. She really misses you."

"Alright, sounds good."

"Okay, well, I should go. I let Jade pick a movie, and I don't want to have nightmares all night. I'll call you in the morning, baby."

"Okay. Goodnight, Fal. I love you."

"Love you too, Kirby. Goodnight."

The call ended and Fallon sat there for a moment, smiling. Then, she stood and headed back to the other room. She spotted The Scissoring 2 queued up on the TV and rolled her eyes, but sat down next to Jade without argument. Her sister needed this right now.

They started the movie and barely made it two minutes until a phone started ringing again. Fallon and Jade both groaned while Steven scrambled to get the device. He looked down at the screen.

“It’s Cristal,” he sighed, already declining the call.

Four minutes later, another call came. Jade’s phone, this time. It was Liam. She didn’t answer. When Fallon got a call from Culhane three minutes after that, she’d had enough. She paused the movie and opened up her texts.

 **Fallon Carrington** created a new group  
**Fallon Carrington** added **Michael Culhane, Liam Ridley, Cristal Carrington, Sammy Jo, Jeff Colby,** and **Monica Colby** to the group

**UNTITLED GROUP**

**Fallon Carrington:** If one more person interrupts my time with my baby sister, I’ll ruin all of you.

 **Fallon Carrington** ended the group. Members can still see previously sent messages.

The woman sighed in relief, tossed her phone aside, and hit play, smiling as her sister seemed to relax.


	4. I'll Be There For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade meets her friends to have an important conversation, but it gets delayed while she works through some things with the help of her girlfriend and best friends. We meet Alyssa Vaughn. And Liam calls. 
> 
> aka exposition & backstory pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts

Jade stretched as the credits rolled, smiling. She looked over and held back a laugh at her siblings’ terrified faces. While Fallon turned off the TV, she checked her texts. After sifting through dozens of messages from near strangers at school, some of whom she was certain she hadn’t given her number to, her eyes landed on her girlfriend’s name. She quickly opened and read the message, then stood up.

“Well,” she said, “I should go. My friends want to see me, so I have to go over to Tori’s.”

Steven stood up too, and moved to hug her, “Alright, kid. You know how to get back out to the side entrance?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it, loser.”

Fallon laughed, getting up as well, “Call us when you get to Tori’s, okay? I’ll deal with calling everyone, you just worry about your friends. And if anyone tries to give you shit, let me know so I can ruin their lives, alright?”

“Sounds good, Fal. I’ll see you later,” Jade said, walking out the door.

After narrowly avoiding a mob of reporters on the way to the limo, thirty minutes of traffic, and the awkward silence of the car, Jade finally made it to Tori’s. After thanking Anders and assuring him she’d let him know if she needed a ride home, she headed towards her girlfriend’s house.

The door loomed in front of her. She’d been here countless times. She basically lived here at this point. But the unknown of what could be waiting inside terrified her. What if they’d all changed their minds? What if they really did hate her? She couldn’t lose everyone, not today.

Uncharacteristically, she reached out and knocked. She didn’t know why. She never knocked anymore. But it felt safer somehow. She heard voices arguing behind the door. No one answered. She tried again. More arguing, louder now. Then, footsteps, getting closer and closer. Finally, the door swung open to reveal not one of her Hollywood Arts friends, but Alyssa Vaughn. Jade breathed a sigh of relief.

Alyssa. Alyssa who she’d known since she was a kid. Alyssa who used to hide under tables with her at fundraiser dinners. Alyssa who was the only familiar face when she was sent to LA. Alyssa, the only one who could even start to understand Jade’s family and all her baggage.

Jade burst into tears.

When she collapsed into her friend’s arms, the other girl was ready for it, catching her with ease. Upon hearing her girlfriend’s sobs, Tori rushed over and the two helped her to the closer of the two couches, settling her between them. Someone put a glass of water in her hand, but she didn’t see who. She sipped it carefully while she tried to force her breathing to slow. Tori stroked her hair and hummed softly next to her.

When Jade finally calmed down, she saw all her friends gathered. Tori was still on her right, and Alyssa on her left. Beck sat next to Alyssa, his hand in hers while they both looked over at her. Robbie and Andre were sitting on the opposite couch, and Cat was on the floor between the couches. They all looked worried.

Jade wiped a tear, “Don’t look at me like that.”

Andre, Cat, and Robbie all looked away, pretending they’d never been looking at her in the first place. The three closer to her, however, stayed exactly as they were.

Beck called over to the three cowering away from Jade, “Why don’t you all go...uh...explore Trina’s room? I’ll let you know when we’re ready to talk.

Cat squealed and ran up the stairs, Robbie close behind. Andre looked at Jade one last time before slowly following them, leaving Beck, Alyssa, Tori, and Jade alone.

“Babe,” Tori started, “are you okay? What’s up?”

Jade looked over at her, eyebrow raised.

“Right. Dumb question. Sorry. And before you try to change the subject, my head is fine and I’m totally alright being out of bed. I’ve been resting all day.”

“Talk to us, Jade,” Alyssa joined in. “Fallon and Steven were ignoring my texts just as much as you were. I’m dying over here. Give me something. It’s just us here, you can say whatever you need to.”

“I...Blake called,” Jade’s voice shook. “Fal, not me. But I was in the car.”

Alyssa tensed up at that and squeezed Beck’s hand. She knew how complicated things were with Blake. How much he’d hurt Jade. She’d never exactly been his biggest fan. But she stayed quiet, giving Jade time to form her words.

“I don’t know what he said exactly, but it didn’t sound great on our end. Fallon was flipping out,” she started to cry again. “I’m scared, Aly.”

Alyssa let go of Beck and wrapped her arms around Jade as quickly as possible. She hadn’t heard that name since they were twelve and Jade had called her in tears to tell her she was coming to California.

“Shhhh,” Alyssa whispered to her friend. “It’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay. I’m right here, J.”

Jade laughed a little through her tears at the old nickname. She reciprocated Alyssa’s hug, pulling her tight.

“So,” Beck interrupted, “are you going to tell us what’s been going on all afternoon? After Blake called, I mean.”

Jade took a few deep breaths, “Yeah, uh. Not much, really. I did talk to Monica. And Jeff. Fallon’s checking in with pretty much everyone else. Liam, Culhane, and Cristal all tried calling while we were watching a movie. She didn’t like that.”

“That explains why they aren’t blowing up your phone,” Alyssa laughed. "I was wondering about that. They really aren’t the kind to just leave it alone. Except Cristal”

“Sorry, but...who are all these people? And how does Alyssa know them?” Tori asked.

Right. Tori was still new to all this.

“Jeff and Monica went to school with Fallon. Liam’s a friend of the family, we grew up together. And Culhane is a driver at the manor, he’s been there since I was seven. Alyssa’s parents had a contract with one of the Carrington companies when we were younger, so she was at all those events and things too. Cristal is Blake's new wife. We've never actually met, but she seems...okay.”

"Oh. Okay, that makes sense. And they'd be blowing up your phone because…?"

"Because they're ganks."

Alyssa snorted, "That's not nice, Jade."

"It's true, isn't it?"

"No. They just worry. They might be a little...overbearing, but it's just because they care." She turned to Tori. "They all kind of adopted Jade as their collective little sister when we were younger and things were...harder. With Blake and Alexis."

Jade sighed. She couldn't exactly argue with that. The four of them were more like family than her parents were, even if things could get messy when they were all in the same room. They'd always put their differences aside for her. 

"Okay," she heard Tori say from her other side. "I'm glad you have them in your life then, baby. And I'm glad you have Fallon here to get them to leave you alone for a while."

"Ha, yeah. But who knows how long that'll last. Fallon's scary, but if anyone's immune to her, it's them." Her phone rang.

Alyssa laughed, "Yeah, definitely immune."

Jade rolled her eyes and picked up the phone. "Hi, Liam. Mhm. Yeah, I'm fine. Seriously. Well that's mean, I think I sound great. I promise, okay? Cool. Yeah, I'm with my girlfriend. No, I don't want you scaring her off. Because you suck. Alyssa’s here too, y'know. And Beck. No, you can't punch him in the face. Because he didn't break my heart, I came out. Yeah, we're cool. No punching. Do you want to talk to Alyssa?" Alyssa laughed at that. "No?"

Alyssa sat up straight and sputtered at that. "Jerk!" She called playfully, loud enough that he'd hear. Beck wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. 

Jade laughed and looked over at her friend, "He says you're an asshole!" She looked away again. "Yeah, Liam. I'm totally sure. Yeah, I'll call. I will! Okay. Bye, idiot." She hung up the phone. 

"All good?" Tori asked, pulling her closer.

"All good," Jade smiled and turned to kiss Tori gently.

"Okay, ew," Alyssa interrupted. "Enough PDA, alright? We're still here."

Jade tried to ignore her, but Tori reluctantly pulled away. 

"Anyway," Beck said, "we should probably have Andre, Cat, and Robbie come back down. I feel like they've probably got some questions."

"Ugh, do we have to?" Jade groaned.

Tori put a hand on her back. "Yeah, baby. I mean...I've definitely got some things to ask. And you probably don't want to have this conversation twice, so…"

Jade looked nervous, but she nodded. "Yeah, okay. I guess we should just get it over with. Tor, can you go and get them?"

Tori smiled at her and stood up, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before walking up the stairs. 

Alyssa moved away from Beck again and put a hand on Jade's arm. She could read Jade better than most, and she could tell the other girl was terrified. "Jade? Look at me. Deep breaths. I know you're scared. And I know it's hard to talk about...everything. But you don't have to tell them anything you aren't comfortable with, okay? And Beck and I are here for you. We can fill in whatever gaps you need us to or help explain things for you. I don't know how much Beck knows, but…"

"I know enough," Beck said. "I was there...in the beginning. Before Blake stopped calling and stuff. And I know some stuff from before."

"Okay. So it'll be alright, Jade. Okay? We're right here."

"Okay." Jade sounded small. Scared. Jade never sounded scared. "Can I, uh, sit between you? I think...I think if Tori tries to comfort me or something I might just. Break down. This is hard enough already."

"Of course, J." Alyssa smiled gently at her. Beck and Alyssa separated a bit more, to emphasize the space between them. Jade stood and went to sit between them. They moved in a little closer once she was settled, and she burrowed into her two best friends. No matter how hard physical contact was with other people, it always came easily with them. They were always there, no matter what. They understood what she was dealing with. They made her stronger.

All three turned together at the sound of four sets of feet hurrying down the stairs. Jade squeezed her friends' hands. This was it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this cuts off like that!! i'm already writing the conversation, but i wanted to get a chapter out. see you soon :)


	5. When We Were Younger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade finally fills her friends in on everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW!!! Some discussion of abuse & homophobia
> 
> Chapter title from dorothea by Taylor Swift

It took a minute for everyone to get settled. Robbie tripped down the stairs, Tori insisted on getting Jade another glass of water ("Just in case"), Andre somehow entirely missed the couch and fell on the ground when he tried to sit, and Cat was...well, Cat. Finally, though, everyone was all ready. Tori and Andre lounged on the couch opposite Jade, Beck, and Alyssa. Cat and Robbie both sat on the floor.

They all watched the three on the couch. Tori was worried. She knew the two were like a security blanket for her girlfriend. Hell, it was concerning that Jade was so vulnerable she’d wrap herself up in them like that in front of people that still believed the tough girl act. The rest of them just seemed confused. As far as they knew, Jade barely let people touch her. And she definitely didn’t cuddle. Or get scared.

Jade visibly drew into herself before sighing. “Alright, we’re all here. Ask whatever you want to know.” She sounded tired. Resigned. Alyssa let go of her hand for a moment and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, before grabbing her hand again with the opposite arm.

The four on the other side of the living room clearly didn’t quite know what to say. Andre hesitated before speaking up.

“So, uh,” he started, rather nervously, “I’m guessing Jade West isn’t your real name?”

“Nope. It’s Jadelyn. Jadelyn Morell Carrington. But I hate being called Jadelyn. Most people just stick with Jade.”

“So then where’d West come from?” Cat asked.

“My aunt and uncle, Amanda and Josh. I live with them, I guess. But they aren’t really around much. Amanda is Alexis’ sister, so her maiden name is Morell, but that name recognition is too dangerous. Luckily, she changed it to West when she married Josh so I just...went with that. There’s an arrangement with the school. Eichner knows about my parents and stuff. So I never legally changed my name, but it isn’t in any school records. Just Jade West.”

“Oh. Huh. Okay.”

Tori looked up from where she’d been fidgeting with her fingers. “So...uh...why are you, y’know, here?”

Jade froze. She knew the question was coming. That was the whole point of this. She’d have to tell them, and the sooner the better. Her eyes started to fill with tears. Maybe she’d wait a while.

Alyssa sensed things going south. She pulled Jade closer. “I think...maybe we should get to that a little later? Build up to it.”

Jade nodded and squeezed her hand in appreciation. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m just. Not quite ready to talk about that right now.”

Tori smiled reassuringly. “That’s okay. We can talk about it when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, baby.”

“So, why are your siblings in town?” Robbie asked.

“Oh, shit. Uh...next question?” Jade looked over at Beck for help.

“Nope. Not dodging this one, dude. Come on, it’s been long enough. They can know.”

She sighed, “Fine. They came to surprise me because...it’s my birthday.”

Cat squealed, “AAAAAA! Jade!!! It’s your birthday?”

“Don’t you dare make a big deal out of this.”

“Sorry…”

“So, your siblings didn’t tell you they were coming, huh?” Andre said, changing the subject.

“No. Blake uh...he doesn’t really like me being in contact with anyone back home, so they have to be careful when they come to see me. This is the first time either of them have been here in...in a long time.”

“Oh. Do you...miss them much? Between visits?” Robbie added.

“Yeah, I guess. There’s a lot I miss back home. And other places."

“Do you want to talk about it? About what you miss back home? Who?”

“Yeah, I can do that. Um, Steven and Fallon, obviously. They're really my only real family, other than a couple cousins scattered around that haven't disowned me yet. Anders, the majordomo at the manor. He was...more of a dad to me than Blake. He actually came with Steven and Fal for the weekend, you'll probably meet him. Australian. Pretty cool guy. And then there's everyone who's actually back home. Monica and Jeff, Liam, Culhane. So...I guess I'll start with Monica."

After about an hour of talking about her family (her real family, not her shit parents), Jade was finally relaxed. Comfortable. Her knees weren't tucked into her chest anymore, and she'd released the death grips on Beck and Alyssa in favor of gesturing as she spoke. But now she was out of those stories. 

When she fell silent, the energy in the room shifted. Everyone knew what was coming next, what had to be coming next. 

Jade took a deep breath, "Okay. I think I'm ready to tell you the rest." She glanced over at Alyssa, who nodded reassuringly. "So...there's one person I left out of those stories. But what I'm about to tell you absolutely cannot leave this room, do you hear me?"

Robbie, Cat, Andre, and even Tori jumped at the sudden change in tone that came with the warning. They all nodded quickly. They watched as Jade turned off her phone, stood, and placed it in a kitchen drawer. 

"Can't be too careful with Blake," she explained when she noticed the four staring. "So, remember when I mentioned missing people outside Atlanta? I meant far outside. Australia, actually…"

Alyssa tensed up at that. "Jade, no. You don't mean…"

"I do mean, actually," Jade snapped, a little harsher than she'd intended. "Don't believe everything you hear about people. Especially not from Blake."

"J, I know you always looked up to her, but-"

"But nothing! She was dealt a bad hand and she was my parents' victim. She never did shit."

Beck spoke up from Jade's other side, somehow not too scared to butt in. "Could you maybe fill the rest of us in? Who are you talking about?"

Jade sighed, "Kirby. Anders. She lived with us when I was a kid. She and Fallon were attached at the hip for a while. I idolized her. Followed her everywhere."

"Yeah, and then she-"

"Shut up, Alyssa. You don't know what you're talking about."

"I was there, wasn't I?"

Jade's anger seemed to melt out of her voice, replaced by resignation. "Just listen? Please?"

"Fine. Okay, sorry."

"Thank you. Anyway, she was my favorite person. Like a big sister to me my whole life. She and Fallon did everything together, and I was always tagging along and inviting myself. But…" she trailed off, not sure how to explain the next part. 

"But something happened, right?" Tori promoted from the other couch. 

"Yeah. One night when I was about eight - she was fourteen and Fallon almost fifteen - Fallon's room caught fire in the middle of the night. Alexis and Blake blamed Kirby and sent her back to Australia. They didn't have any proof, of course. Other than a few fights she'd gotten into with Fallon over the years. But still, she was gone suddenly.

"When Steven was visiting from school about a month after the incident, Fallon took us down by the lake where no one would hear us and told us Kirby was innocent, that there was no way she could've set the fire because she'd been out all night and didn't even get back until the house was being evacuated. More than one person at school confirmed that she'd been at a party up until about ten minutes after the latest the fire could've started."

"So your parents accused an innocent teenager and kicked her out? Why?" Andre asked, completely perplexed.

"They didn't just accuse her, they set the damn fire. Framed her for it."

The room went quiet at that.

"Shit, Jade," Alyssa said, breaking the silence. "Oh god, I'm so so sorry, I-"

Jade put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Aly. You didn't know. How could you?"

"So...why'd they do it?" Andre asked again.

"She stood up for me. Against them. And they didn't like that I took after her. Thought she was a bad influence. That getting rid of her would fix me or some chiz. And she was gay. Very proudly. They thought she was going to, I don't know, 'corrupt' Fallon or something. That's why it took Steven so long to come out, actually. Why I still haven't come out. We both know what happened to her, and she wasn't even their kid.

"I'm telling you all this because it has a lot to do with why I'm here. Why I got kicked out." Her hands found Beck and Alyssa’s again. She could do this. "So I guess you've figured out that my parents weren't exactly the best. And I guess a lot of people can tell, the Carringtons lead very public lives. But it's...worse than most people think."

The four people across the room watched her carefully. They knew where this was probably going. And they hated it.

Jade continued, "It was never physical with Alexis. She isn't like that. She picks away at you. At what you know about yourself. At your self esteem. At your self respect. She finds every weak spot. 

"But with Blake...things were different. He's an angry man. Bitter. Violent. He uh…he took it out on me," she took a deep, shuddering breath. "More than he ever did to Fallon and Steven. It wasn't exactly pretty. I acted out a lot. Didn't do what he told me. I think they thought getting rid of Kirby would help, but it just broke me. I was hurting. Fallon was hurting. I watched Kirby get sent away, screaming and banging on the car window.

"Things got a lot worse after that. On both ends. Alexis left when I was about nine, a year after Kirby got sent to Australia. Never heard from her again, not that I'm complaining. In sixth grade, I got into Kirby's old things, started wearing her old clothes and stuff, listening to her CDs. When I was twelve, Blake just…decided he was done with me. Too much to handle, I guess. Too much like Kirby. So I ended up here, with Josh and Amanda. Changed my name, got rid of all the designer clothes and shit I had from home. And here we are, I guess."

"Shit," Tori breathed out across the room. "Jade, I-"

"Don't worry about it, baby," Jade offered her a weak smile. "It was a long time ago, and-"

"Of course I'm gonna worry about it, babe," Tori stood and moved over to crouch in front of Jade and take her hand. "They hurt you, and now you're back on your dad's radar, not to mention the rest of the world's, and that's gotta be terrifying. So you get to be upset and scared and I get to worry. Okay?"

Jade nodded, "Okay." She yawned. "I think I need to be done for tonight, though. This was...a lot."

Andre took that as his cue, "Yeah, we should be going." He grabbed Cat and Robbie by the arms and pulled them up. "Come on, you two."

Cat and Robbie both managed hurried goodbyes before the door slammed shut behind them. The living room was left in silence, Jade still between Alyssa and Beck, Tori still crouched on the ground holding her hand.

"Alright, J," Alyssa started. "What do you want to do tonight? What's the plan?"

"Oh, well. I don't know."

Tori looked at the other two, "Would you mind staying the night? I think it'd be good for us all to be here, and it's late to be driving home."

"Yeah, we can do that," Alyssa confirmed, smiling softly.

"Okay! We can camp out in here. I'll go get pillows and blankets."

Beck stood, "I will help."

They both hurried off, leaving Jade and Alyssa alone.

"Hey J, does Fallon know where you're staying for the night?"

"Uh...no. No, I don't think so."

"Alright. I'm gonna give her a call and let her know. I'll be right back."

Alyssa walked into the kitchen and called Fallon. When she came back, Jade was fast asleep. She let out a light laugh and relaxed onto the opposite couch. Some rest would do them all some good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Okay finally updated!! You might've noticed another work attached to this one. Basically, it's oneshots of flashbacks, missing scenes, and time jumps. They're not necessary to understand this, but they flesh out the characters and backstories a lot. The first one is of Kirby and Fallon as teenagers, a week before Kirby leaves. Enjoy :)


	6. Wait By The Door Like I'm Just A Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fallon and Steven head back to Atlanta, and Fallon receives a...less than warm welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from tolerate it by Taylor Swift

The weekend went by fairly smoothly. Fallon showed up at Tori's door at 9 am on Saturday to drag Jade, Tori, Alyssa, and Beck to breakfast at a restaurant she'd apparently rented out for the morning so they wouldn't be bothered. Tori was in awe all morning. She barely said a word, which was certainly unusual. Fallon had an important conference call right after, so the four teenagers just went back to Tori’s. On Sunday, Jade went to the hotel to spend the day with her siblings before they flew out that night. She almost couldn't find it in herself to stop hugging them when they dropped her off at Tori's, tempted to just fly home with them, but she knew that would be an awful plan. So instead, she said her goodbyes, went inside, crawled into her girlfriend's bed, and promptly passed out from the exhaustion of the weekend, Tori still sitting at her desk doing homework.

Fallon's Sunday night was not as relaxing as her sister's. The jet left at 10 pm. Steven and Anders both fell asleep rather quickly, but Fallon couldn't help but become entirely overcome by panic. What would Blake say when they saw him? What would he do? She shook her head and pulled out her laptop. If she couldn't relax, she could at least get some work done. She busied herself with answering emails and working on projects, until she finally fell asleep with only thirty minutes left of the flight. 

They landed at 5 am (Atlanta time). Steven shook her awake. She stretched and stumbled off the plane into the waiting car, where she struggled not to fall asleep again. She rested her head against the window and shot off a quick text to Kirby to let her know they'd landed safely. Next thing she knew, they were back at the manor. 

Everything after walking into the foyer was a blur. One second she was kneeling on the ground with Steven greeting Bo, and the next she was standing on the doorstep alone, a suitcase in each hand. She didn't know where to go, what to do, why she was out there and Steven was safe and warm inside. It was worth it for Jade, of course, but still. What the hell. 

She couldn't fly back to LA. She didn't have access to the jet anymore and there was no way she was flying commercial. She didn't want to stay at the Ritz. Too sterile. Definitely not a home. Which left Monica. 

She dialed her friend's number and waited as the phone rang twice. 

"Fallon? It's barely after six, what's going on?" Monica's tired voice spoke from the other end. 

"I know, I'm sorry, just, uh…can I crash with you for a while? I just flew back in and Blake is...less than happy with me."

Monica was more awake now. "Shit, Fal, of course. Does Steven need to come over too? I have-"

"No. No Steven's fine. Apparently, he's still welcome there. So uh...just me. I guess."

"God, I'm sorry Fal. You can totally stay here as long as you need. Do you need someone to pick you up? I can come get you."

"Yeah. That'd be good. Thanks."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the gate."

"Yeah."

The line went dead. Fallon sighed and dialed another number. 

"Hey, Fallon. Great timing, my shift just ended."

"Oh, good," Fallon's voice wavered. Not much, but enough for her girlfriend to pick up on.

Kirby's voice was immediately flooded with concern. "What's wrong, baby? Are you okay?"

"No. Blake uh...he kicked me out. Right when I got home."

"That fucker. Jesus christ, I swear to god I'm-"

"Baby, no, it's okay."

"Like hell it is, Fallon. He kicked you out for what, visiting your sister? Treating her like a fucking person? Like a member of your family, which she absolutely is?"

"Look, Kirb, I'm pissed too, trust me. But I've got a place to stay with Monica and a company to build with Jeff, and I get a break from that shitshow. I'll be alright, I promise."

"...Okay, fine. Just check in with me please? And let me know if you need anything at all. I'll totally fight your dad for you."

"I'll call you every day baby, okay? And as much as I appreciate the offer, now is not the time."

Kirby sighed, "Fine. But my offer stands."

"I know, baby. I've gotta go, Monica's on her way to pick me up."

"Okay. I'll call you later. I love you so much."

"I love you too. Bye, Kirb."

Fallon ended the call and started down the driveway towards the gates, suitcases dragging behind her. 

Monica made it to the manor in 15 minutes, nearly record time. She hurried out of the car to hug Fallon tight. The other girl started to cry in her arms. When she stopped crying, Monica helped her into the passenger seat and tossed the suitcases into the trunk. 

The drive home was mostly quiet. The radio was playing softly, probably so they could avoid awkward silences. Fallon texted Jade to call her when she woke up, and Kirby to let her know Monica had gotten her. Monica focused on driving, but occasionally glanced over worriedly to check on her friend.

They took a little longer to get to Monica's. It was about 8:15 when they got there. Monica carried Fallon's bags into the guest room for her and made sure she was comfortable on the couch before turning on the kettle for tea. Fallon's phone rang. She saw the caller ID and relaxed a little. 

"Hey baby," Fallon said happily. "Did you get home okay?"

"Yup! Safe and sound and just about ready to pass out. Figured I'd call and check in one more time first."

"I'm doing okay now. I just got to Monica's."

"Okay, good. And does Jade know?"

"No, not yet," Fallon sighed. "It's only, like, 5:15 in LA. But I texted and asked her to call me as soon as she wakes up, so hopefully I'll hear from her in a couple hours. I want her to hear it from me first."

"That makes sense. Okay so you're all good?"

"I'm all good."

"And Monica's there with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. And Jeff will be at the office later."

"Do you really want to go in today? I'm sure he'd understand if y-"

"Babe, I'm going in. I'll be fine, don't worry. It's not like I'm headed to CA."

"I guess. Do you want me to stay up? In case you need anything?"

"I will be fine, my love. You need sleep, you just worked a double shift."

"Yeah, but what if you need to talk or-"

"I can talk to Monica or wait until you wake up. Please get some sleep."

"...Fine. But you need to sleep, too. We both know you probably barely slept on the jet, and you must be drained from...everything."

"I slept a little bit!" Fallon protested. "And I slept on the drive back to the manor."

"Nope. Not enough. I'm only sleeping if you promise to at least try and take a nap before work."

Monica's voice came from behind Fallon, startling her. "If whoever you're talking to is telling you to sleep, they're right. That is why I made you tea," she handed a mug to the other woman, "instead of coffee."

"Oh, come on," Fallon complained. "I can't even have one cup?"

Kirby chuckled in her ear, "You're worse than your sister."

"Shut up."

"Hey, it's true. Jade can at least acknowledge that she actually needs sleep and that coffee won't help."

"Whatever, I see how it is," Fallon said melodramatically. "You just like her better than me."

"Oh, we both know that's not true."

Monica smiled at how happy Fallon seemed to suddenly be talking with the mysterious person on the phone. She slipped out of the room silently. 

"Yeah, I know. I'm obviously your favorite person."

"Obviously," Kirby agreed, giggling. 

"Okay. You really should get some sleep, baby. It's getting pretty late there."

"Fine. Promise to try and get some sleep?" 

"Promise. I love you, darling."

"I love you too, Fal. Have a good day! Call me if you need anything at all."

"I will. Goodnight."

Fallon hung up the phone and readjusted herself to a more comfortable position on the couch just as Monica came back in.

"So," her friend started, "who was that?"

"Hm? Oh, nobody."

"A nobody you call 'babe' and 'my love' and 'darling'?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Well, that nobody makes you look happier than you have since...well...since freshman year of high school."

They both knew what she was talking about. 

"Oh...really?"

"Yeah, really. You're head over heels, aren't you?"

"Okay, maybe just a little tiny bit."

"I knew it!"

"But I can't tell you who it is," Fallon added quickly.

Monica sighed, "Fine, fine. I won't pry. You need to rest, anyway. Go get some sleep."

"Okay, I will. God, the two of you…" she muttered.

"Just looking out for you, Fallon!" Monica called after her. 

Fallon collapsed onto the guest room bed and fell asleep in minutes. Okay, so maybe she did need some rest.


End file.
